13 Essential Kitchen Items For Anyone Trying To Get Healthier

After watching Forks Over Knives, a friend of mine recently went to social media to ask for help with diet changes. Many of the suggestions were good, but I noticed one thing was missing: kitchen gear.

With that in mind, this post is about essential kitchen tools for eating healthy, some cool kitchen additions, and a few tips for getting started.

Essentials

Blender: A must for whole food smoothies, homemade sauces, and sneaking in veggies you haven't been able to develop a taste for yet.

Steamer basket: Learning how to properly steam veggies is essential. In order to steam them properly, you need the right tools for the job.

One good knife: There are plenty of knives, but for most cooking jobs, one really good knife will do most of the things you need.

Cutting board: If you're going to cut things, it's nice to have a designated area for it. Flexible cutting boards can be a nice touch for making the transfer of foods quick, or if you're like me, you can get one with inch lines on it for precise cuts.

Non-stick frying pan: A necessity for water or broth frying, which is a great way to cut calories and added fats.

Spatula: You're going to need it for the frying pan.

Stock pot: A large pot usually used for soups. As far as cheap, easy, and healthy go, soups are a winner. You can also use this for soaking and cooking beans, which makes "cheap and healthy" even easier.

Additions

Tea pitcher: Tea is generally a good beverage choice. Since it often tastes less bitter when cold brewed, a tea pitcher is great for steeping your tea and having it ready to serve. Just load it with water and your tea of choice before bed, and the next day, you have cold-brewed tea.

Mortar and pestle: A fantastic little tool for mashing things together to create amazing sauces. Because of its coarseness, a little bit of salt will make it easier to combine ingredients. You might even be able to create your own matcha tea.

Fresh herbs: They make everything taste better, and make your kitchen smell phenomenal.

Dehydrator: These have plenty of uses, but making my own kale chips would save me tons of money, and if you find something you like, this could make snacking healthy cheap and easy.

Getting started:

When I first decided to get healthy, I didn't like much that was healthy. So I started by eating more of the healthy things I did like, and adding things I didn't until I could tolerate them, and eventually I began to enjoy them. I was so bad I couldn't eat bananas!

Some things were tricky, so I would blend them into smoothies in small quantities (like spinach or kale). Eventually I had a decent routine, but I needed more, so I began to explore new foods and new cultures. I suggest that you pick up a new food, or a recipe with a new food, whenever you shop. This helps keep things interesting, helps add new things to your diet, and will help you constantly improve as a cook. Who knows? You might like something you've never tried, (parsnips), never heard of (Dal), or previously hated (bananas).